Western Veterinary Therapies

News, Articles, Videos and other content about Western Veterinary Therapies

What makes recommendations for regenerative therapies such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) inexact is that these approaches are based in biology, not chemistry, said Lisa A. Fortier, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVS, of Cornell. Each preparation is just as variable and unique as one horse is to the next. Recognizing this can go a long way in setting clients’ expe...

When your horse starts displaying signs of colic—decreased manure production, a lack of appetite, or pain—your first call should be to your veterinarian. While some mild colics can pass without much trouble, other types must be diagnosed and treated quickly—medically or surgically—to improve the horse's likelihood of survival. ...

Despite veterinary advancements and dramatically improved postoperative survival rates, colic is still a leading cause of death among horses. Colic, by definition, is abdominal pain; this is a clinical sign rather than a disease. A horse can be “colicky” for many reasons—large colon torsions, small intestinal strangulations, spasmodic ep...

If your horse is dealing with cataract-associated vision loss, researchers have some good news: Recent study results suggest that more than 25% of horses that undergo a certain type of cataract surgery are still visual two years later.

Horses can suffer musculoskeletal pain and injuries anywhere along the axial skeleton that comprises the skull, vertebral column, sternum, and ribs. Bringing these horses back to form post-injury can be difficult and time-consuming, but possible thanks to both time-tested mobilization exercises and cutting-edge physical therapy techniques.

Moderate to severe superficial digital flexor (SDF) tendon lesions in Thoroughbred racehorses have typically carried a poor prognosis for a return to racing and a lengthy rehabilitation process for horses that do return. But a team of veterinarians recently took a closer look at a procedure that could help improve the outcome for Thoroughbreds with such i...

A kiss is typically synonymous with romance and affection. But when it's your horse's spine that's doing the kissing, it's also synonymous with pain and poor performance. "Kissing spines" is traditionally treated surgically under general anesthesia, which carries its own risks, ranging from the dangers of recovery to death. But t...

Your veterinarian says your horse needs surgery, and there are two options to choose from—a tried-and-true but somewhat invasive procedure or a newer, less invasive method that lets them return to function quicker. While the latter option seems enticing, you might want to stick to tradition, depending on the procedure: Researchers recently learned t...

While severe equine eye injuries or disorders can be gruesome in appearance, they generally aren't life-threatening. Thanks to medical and technological advances, veterinarians can now treat eye issues more effectively than they have in the past. But if treatment fails, veterinarians also have the option of removing the eye without the risks associate...

Cribbing isn't just annoying for owners and destructive to property. It can also negatively impact your horse's health and is notoriously difficult to control. But there's a glimmer of hope for owners with cribbers: Researchers found that a surgical procedure intended to control cribbing is very effective.

One of the great mysteries surrounding the field of stem cell therapy is how the cells are distributed after being injected. Do they disperse evenly? Do they travel to the area where they’re needed? And how long do they stick around?

When an owner sends a horse under the knife for colic surgery, he or she is first and foremost hoping the horse survives the operation. But just because he makes it through the procedure doesn't mean he's out of the woods: Many horses develop a dangerous complication called postoperative ileus—a lack of gut motility after surgery.

Wounds located on a horse’s lower (distal) limb can be extremely challenging to treat due to the small amount of “extra” soft tissue in the area (to suture, for example) and the propensity for excessive proud flesh to form, which prolongs rehabilitation. Over the years, veterinarians have tried multiple techniques to improve tissue heali...

Getting a subfertile mare in foal usually often necessitates repeated veterinary examinations and treatments, such as medications and uterine flushes. Still, success is not always guaranteed. Researchers recently revealed that stem cells and other biologic therapies might also be useful in the quest to promote “sub” mares to fully fertile.

Have you ever observed or seen photos of a horse in a hospital undergoing surgery that requires general anesthesia? After he's anesthetized in a padded room he's hoisted onto a table where, while the surgeon takes care of the procedure at hand, numerous assistants monitor the patient's vital signs, ready to spring into action if any problems o...

Veterinarians have identified stem cell therapies as potentially powerful weapons in the war on equine wounds and injuries. However, the exact stem cell types most beneficial for particular “battles” remain unclear.

Musculoskeletal injuries are an all-too common cause of lameness in horses. Thanks to the advent of biologic therapies, including stem cells, tendon injuries aren’t the “death sentence” they once were. Despite the positive results associated with stem cells in equine tendon injuries, however, the “best” way to obtain and use ...

Having stem cells at our disposal for treating tendon and ligament injuries in horses but not knowing exactly how to administer them is like having a million dollars you can't spend. One researcher from Colorado State University (CSU) described stem cell preparation and delivery at the 2012 American Association of Equine Practitioners' Convention,...

While researchers have not yet completed any formal studies of stem cells and laminitis, both Raul Bras, DVM, CJF, of Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital's podiatry department, and John Peroni, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, of the University of Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine, have clinical experience using stem cells for laminitis cases, and they p...

Veterinarians work with horse owners to provide the best possible care from snip to tail. This holiday season, consider the following "wishes" your equine experts made to help maximize your horses' quality of life.

A group of very interactive veterinarians gathered for the table topic discussion on shock wave therapy at the 2012 American Association of Equine Practitioners Annual Meeting, held Dec. 1-5 in Anaheim, Calif. Susan Johns, DVM, CVA, of Virginia Equine Imaging, and Scott McClure, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVS, associate professor of equine surgery at Iowa State Uni...